ChatGPT and Gemini Connectors: Where to Find Them and How to Connect

"I already did this with Claude, but ChatGPT is what I actually use every day. Does this work there too?"

It does. ChatGPT connects through the plugin directory: open the plugin that contains the app you want and hit Connect. Gemini connects through the Personal Intelligence menu in settings: flip the connected apps toggle and Gmail and Drive are linked. Last lesson walked through Claude. Today it's ChatGPT and Gemini's turn. If ChatGPT or Gemini is your main tool, this lesson alone will get you there. Menu names and locations shift often, so if the screen looks different, cross-check with each company's documentation.

Plugin

A package that bundles apps and skills for distribution inside ChatGPT. As of July 2026, ChatGPT's app directory has been folded into the plugin directory, so connecting an app now means opening the plugin that contains it. If an app is a single product, a plugin is the box it ships in.

Same feature, different name in every tool

The three companies' names for this feature are laid out in the comparison table from lesson 1. Claude calls it connectors, ChatGPT calls it apps, Gemini calls it connected apps. Today there are two locations worth remembering: the plugin directory in ChatGPT, and connected apps under settings in Gemini. Let's start with ChatGPT.

Where ChatGPT connects: the plugin directory

ChatGPT's connection screen went through a major overhaul in July 2026. You used to browse the app directory and connect apps one at a time; that directory has since merged into the plugin directory. OpenAI's own documentation notes that any app you already had connected stays connected, and new connections just happen through the plugin directory going forward. If a screenshot from another blog post looks different from what you see, nothing's wrong, it's just from before the change. Here's the process on the web (chatgpt.com), in four steps.

1. Open the plugin directory. OpenAI's documented connection flow starts here. To check or disconnect an app you've already connected, go to your profile menu, then Settings, then Apps.
2. Find the plugin that contains the app you want. Look up the plugin that includes Google Drive, open it, and hit Connect on the detail screen. That screen also shows what the app can do, along with its terms of service and privacy policy.
3. Approve with your Google account. You'll see the same OAuth consent screen from the last lesson. Read through the requested permissions once, then hit Allow.
4. Confirm it in a chat. Open a new chat and ask something like "find last month's meeting notes in my Drive and summarize them." A working answer means you're connected.

If the Connect button is greyed out, you can't connect yet. Per OpenAI's documentation, the usual reasons are regional restrictions, plan requirements, or workspace settings. If the button reads "Disabled by admin," you're on a company account and need to ask your admin. The plugin directory itself shows up on every plan, but which apps you can actually connect varies by plan, so check the specific app you want.

Permissions: deciding when ChatGPT should ask first

Once you're connected, it's worth checking the permission setting. This is the four-tier system previewed back in lesson 1. Open Settings, then Apps, then find Ask permission under App Preferences, and pick from four options.

• Always ask: ChatGPT asks before every action, including reads.
• Any changes: Reads happen automatically; anything that changes something asks first.
• Important actions: Reads happen automatically; only important actions ask first. This is the default.
• Never ask: Nothing asks first, everything just runs. This is the riskiest option, since actions happen with no confirmation, and depending on your account or workspace it may not even be offered by default.

OpenAI's documentation also spells out what counts as an "important action": sending emails or messages, deleting content, purchases and refunds, changing sharing permissions. Leave the default Important actions setting alone and you get easy reads plus an approval prompt before anything hard to undo.

One more thing worth checking. On ChatGPT's Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans, if "Improve the model for everyone" is turned on, information pulled in from connected apps can be used to train the model. That's the same setting covered in lesson 1. Check it before you connect any app that holds sensitive material.

Gemini is different, because it's Google

If connecting to ChatGPT means getting a visitor badge from the building next door, connecting to Gemini is more like opening a door to another department in the same building. Gmail, Drive, and Calendar already belong to the same company as Gemini, so the process is simpler: flip the toggle for the app you want, follow whatever prompt shows up, and you're connected. That's the whole thing.

Connected apps live inside a personalization feature called Personal Intelligence. If your account qualifies, you may first see a card inviting you to turn Personal Intelligence on; you can pick apps to connect straight from that card, or open the setting directly. On the web (gemini.google.com), go to Settings & help, then Personal Intelligence, then Connected apps. In the mobile app, tap your profile picture and go to Personal Intelligence to reach the same screen. From there, flip the toggle for each app on to connect it, off to disconnect. What you can connect: Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar, Drive), Contacts, YouTube, and Google's search services such as Search, Maps, and Shopping. Photos is only available in some regions.

What does this actually get you? A couple of examples. Ask "find the flight confirmation email I got last week" and Gemini searches your Gmail for it. Google's own help documentation lists things like "what did I search for last month?" plus recommendations based on your settings and building a personalized schedule. The step of uploading a file or pasting in content just disappears entirely.

There are conditions, though. They're the same ones covered in the memory lesson. You need a personal Google account (work, school, and supervised accounts don't qualify), and you need to be 18 or older. Keep Activity has to be turned on. Connecting Workspace apps also requires the smart features setting for other Google products to be on. There are regional limits too: Google's help center lists the UK, the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and Nigeria as unsupported. On top of all that, Personal Intelligence is still rolling out gradually, so even meeting every condition doesn't guarantee the menu shows up yet. If it's missing on a work or school account, that's expected behavior tied to account type, not a bug, so it's outside the scope of this lesson.

Which is better: a three-way comparison from a connections standpoint

Once you've connected all three tools, one question remains. So where should you actually live? The short answer: the deciding factor isn't the tool, it's where your files already are.

If your files live in Google, Gemini wins on speed. If you use Gmail and Drive every day, it's hard to beat Gemini's fit, connecting is just a settings toggle. The catch is the personal-account requirement and the gradual rollout; if either one blocks you, move to the next option.

If your files live outside Google, in Notion or GitHub, Claude is the safe default. It has official connectors in its directory, and the Google Workspace connectors are available even on the free plan. You've already connected it in the last lesson, so there's no extra cost to trying it.

If ChatGPT is already your main tool, there's no reason to switch. Just connect the apps you use through the plugin directory. Two things to check first: whether your plan supports the app you want, and your model-improvement setting.

You've now confirmed with your own hands what a connection is in all three places: Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini. Next lesson puts those connections to work.